Microsoft’s Project Scorpio Set for Thursday Reveal | News & Opinion

If some of the rumors are true, Project Scorpio could be a next-generation console that’s much more powerful than the Xbox One.

Gamers eagerly awaiting official details on Microsoft’s Project Scorpio gaming console could have a very good Thursday, which is when Digital Foundry is set to unveil more information about the project.

Details are scarce: all we know is that Digital Foundry tweeted that it “will have an exclusive Xbox Scorpio reveal” on Thursday at 9 a.m. Eastern time. Microsoft confirmed the reveal to CNET, but didn’t shed any insight on what will actually be announced.

It’s unlikely that we’ll get detailed specs on a next-generation console on Thursday, especially since the E3 gaming convention, coming up in June, historically coincides with major console announcements. Instead, it’s a safer bet that Digital Foundry will unveil some of Project Scorpio’s capabilities, about which there have been many rumors.

If some of those rumors turn out to be true, Scorpio will be a full-blown, next-generation gaming machine, according to IGN. Xbox developer told IGN in January that “Scorpio isn’t just a half-assed upgrade (which the PS4 Pro kinda is…), but a full blown next-gen machine that’s just backwards-compatible to your current library.”

A Microsoft white paper that Digital Foundry leaked in January seems to confirm the next-gen console rumors: Scorpio is getting a new RAM architecture, more L2 cache, and could have a GPU with six teraflops of computing power. Those specs suggest that it will be five times more powerful than the current Xbox One(pictured above), according to IGN. Scorpio is also rumored to support games with 4K resolution.

Meanwhile, if you’re itching to exercise your wallet ahead of Scorpio’s release, you can pre-order one of a new “Tech Series” of Xbox Wireless Controllers. The first—dubbed the Xbox Wireless Controller-Recon Tech Special Edition—will be available worldwide starting April 25 for $69.99, or $10 more than the standard black Xbox Wireless Controller.